After the ghost fainted, an unknown amount of time passed before it groggily woke up to find it was the middle of the night.
It stubbornly rubbed against the red carpet and went to knock on other people’s doors.
The female player who had been sent to buy fans by Zhou Qi’an during the day and another player had chosen to share a room. The two timid people were still diligently working on their data.
The male player shrank his neck. “Who, who’s knocking on the door?”
The female player: “Duh, duh, it’s a ghost.”
She looked at the door and, before the ghost could even speak, said, “Ghost, don’t pretend. We all heard you singing.”
Ghost: “…”
Under the premise that it was a ghost, no matter how eloquently the ghost outside spoke, the effect of its voice was very limited.
After confirming that not opening the door was safe, the two continued to work on their data.
“It wants to trick people into opening the door, so why does it still sing?”
“Because it wants to sing?” It sang beautifully.
The female player: “…After becoming a ghost, one might be forcibly dumbed down. No matter what, we must all strive to live.”
She didn’t want to become this stupid.
The high notes of a song had also faintly reached Vikas. The existence of such a moronic ghost invisibly made him even more confused.
What kind of instance was this?
Everyone was busy with their own things, and the ghost’s performance for the night was zero.
The next morning, Zhou Qi’an was drinking coffee and reading the entertainment news.
The video’s view count, which had started with forced刷s1 yesterday, had now actually exceeded one million. On the hot entertainment news, there were a few more reports.
Things like “Buying Fake Fans to the Company’s Doorstep,” “What Kind of Character is the Artist Who Calls Himself Throat Lozenge?”, “Angrily Shouting at the Audience to Stay in the Square”…
“As expected.”
Yesterday, when the responsible teacher came out and saw the fake fans at the door without taking any action, he had a vague premonition that this was to shift the focus from the hot search about the boss being taken in for questioning.
The company probably also sponsored this wave of hot searches. After all, there was nothing else for them to hype up right now.
His own hot topic was truly the best of a bad bunch.
But the effect was quite good.
Now the comments were all teasing, saying that the boss had just come out of the police station and was almost driven to depression when he saw a bunch of obviously hired fake fans at the company’s doorstep. The topic had already developed towards entertainment.
Black-red is also red.
Zhou Qi’an looked at Shen Zhiyi, who had brought him breakfast, and said, “Your throat lozenge is about to become famous.”
A joking remark, but Shen Zhiyi only heard the word ‘your’.
His, his, his.
After three self-affirming cognitions, the outline of his pale ears turned slightly red.
Zhou Qi’an was eating breakfast and scrolling through his phone, not noticing the change in the other’s expression.
As the company required all employees, including trainees, to gather in the lobby at 8 AM every morning—a death rule clearly stated—the two of them went out early after eating to prevent any mishaps.
When passing through the company’s revolving door, Zhou Qi’an went around with the door on the first turn, and then again on the second.
He just silently revolved like that.
“What’s he doing?” The other players looked on with surprise. Even the ordinary NPCs looked over curiously.
A merry-go-round?
Shen Zhiyi disliked others looking at Zhou Qi’an with strange eyes and said coldly, “He just doesn’t want to arrive at the company early.”
Arriving at work early is disrespectful to one’s personality.
Qi’an’s actions were called self-respect and self-love.
Everyone looked at each other. What kind of crooked logic was that?
After spinning enough, Zhou Qi’an stood in the lobby, right on time.
The female player said in a low voice, “You’re really something, not getting dizzy even after spinning like that.”
Zhou Qi’an shrugged. “It’s alright. Someone wasn’t even killed when a latrine exploded.”
At the side, Vikas was grinding his teeth so hard they were about to shatter.
As they were talking, the indoor space suddenly darkened. After everyone had gathered in the lobby, the roller shutter door behind them was suddenly pulled down. The sudden change in atmosphere caused the players to instantly stop talking and all become vigilant.
Deliberately gathering all the employees, the teacher they had met yesterday appeared with a serious expression. After a roll call, she found that everyone was present, a trace of regret in her eyes.
She faced everyone and said with a warning tone, “Recently, there have been some bad rumors in the company. I’ve called you all here today in the hope that everyone can let the rumors stop with the wise.”
Rumors, the wise?
Zhou Qi’an let out a light snort. She could actually say something like that.
A superior would need such a talent for public relations.
Next, the other party said a lot of superficial things. Just as she was in full swing, she suddenly stopped.
Everyone followed her gaze and saw a very star-like celebrity approaching from the side.
A soft, cute baby face, in line with the company’s demand for cuteness. His figure and height were also top-notch. He was a currently popular artist.
The person came with an arrogant demeanor, didn’t greet the teacher, and didn’t even give any of the trainees a glance. He opened his mouth and said, “The boss is looking for you…”
Before the last word was out, he condescendingly looked down at the ‘common people’.
Huh, where’d he go?
The responsible teacher coldly pointed at the elevator.
Turning around, Zhou Qi’an was already there, urging, “Hurry up, don’t keep the boss waiting.”
“…”
The distance was only three or four meters, yet he had clearly just been downstairs. Was he gliding?
With such an absurd speed, how did the other party know he was talking to him?
Vikas suddenly felt a little better. See, he wasn’t the only one who thought Zhou Qi’an was a psycho.
Right now, the players’ focus was all on Zhou Qi’an, who was leaving with the NPC. Only Shen Zhiyi stood quietly in place, waiting silently.
Originally, he was going to send the boss’s soul back to its hometown, hypnotize the employees, and then promote Qi’an to the top.
But before Zhou Qi’an left, he had quietly said, ‘I’m planning to go have some fun at public expense today.’ Shen Zhiyi immediately changed his decision and decided to let the boss live a crippled life until they returned.
Otherwise, after becoming the new boss, he would still have to clean up some messes, which would delay their good times.
Glancing at the picture of the middle-aged fat man on the wall, Shen Zhiyi sneered, a lecherous look on his face.
His physiognomy skills wouldn’t be wrong. From the newcomer’s question yesterday about whether he had gone to see the boss, he had roughly guessed the NPC’s intentions.
This boss was suitable for an early death and eternal damnation.
In the elevator.
Once in the elevator car, the male star immediately put on a superior attitude and began to lecture, a hint of jealousy hidden under his sunglasses.
“You’re just getting a little famous now, you must remember…”
Zhou Qi’an was busy fiddling with his phone, not even looking at him:
“Not important. Anyway, the popular artists of this company will all disappear. The top spot in the company will be mine sooner or later.”
The male star’s eyelid twitched fiercely. He quickly caught the loophole in his words. “If the boss hears this, he will definitely be unhappy. The rumors are all baseless. Aren’t I standing right here, perfectly fine?”
The elevator door happened to open. Before Zhou Qi’an walked out, he seriously emphasized, “Popular.”
“…” You, mother, f-er.
If Zhou Qi’an knew what profanities he was cursing, he would definitely add, “A single strand of my mother’s hair is more beautiful than you.”
Walking alone along the corridor, the male star’s curses disappeared into the ascending elevator car.
The door to the office ahead was open. As if hearing his footsteps, the middle-aged fat man strode out.
The NPCs in the one-star instance seemed to have a commonality. The second person who liked to lecture appeared.
As soon as he saw Zhou Qi’an, he loudly started to question him.
First scold, then praise, promise benefits, and finally make the other party fall into his arms. This was a trick the middle-aged fat man had used time and again.
He pointed his finger at the other’s nose, but the movement was too big, and the glasses on his own nose were about to fall off:
“Who let you perform outside without permission? Didn’t I tell you to come find me first yesterday…”
Zhou Qi’an professionally interrupted him, “Someone forced me to go.”
The middle-aged fat man was stunned for a moment, then became even more furious, “Who forced…”
Zhou Qi’an’s hand, which was in his pocket, never left his phone. He said, “I don’t know.”
Before the other party could fly into a rage, he suddenly smiled.
The light in the corridor was not very bright. His originally clear voice suddenly changed. As he deliberately lowered it, the clarity turned into gentleness, and he started singing at the drop of a hat.
The lyrics, the tone, and the pauses were exactly the same as the ghost’s from last night.
Zhou Qi’an sang two lines. The middle-aged fat man’s face changed drastically, but he quickly recovered.
His first reaction was that the person in front of him was deliberately imitating the missing artist’s singing to scare him. Such a clumsy trick made him angry and his eyes turned fierce.
“You dare to mess with me!” His fist swung down.
Zhou Qi’an didn’t dodge. Just as the fist was about to hit his face, he calmly turned on his phone’s recording.
The song the ghost had sung last night instantly echoed in the empty corridor.
Ethereal, eerie, with a faint hint of resentment. The listener could even imagine the environment in which the other was singing.
Just like now, in a long corridor with an echo, the ghost was unrestrainedly hitting high notes.
The boss’s face turned from white to green. His iron fist, in a slight tremble, instantly became as soft as cotton. He was frozen in place.
Without giving the other party any time to react, Zhou Qi’an timed it perfectly and played the next edited recording from the stairs.
— Hurry up and come see the boss with me.
Of all the ghost’s words tempting him to open the door, he had only kept one sentence:
“Hurry up and come see the boss with me.”
“Hurry up and come see the boss with me…”
This sentence played on a loop, with a hint of urgency. The middle-aged fat man’s breathing became disordered, and he even had trouble catching his breath. “Turn it, turn it off.”
Zhou Qi’an obediently turned off the recording and started a new video recording, saying softly, “It’s been wanting to see you. Such an excellent idol, how did he suddenly disappear?”
“People do, heaven watches. It asked me to bring it to you…”
The moment his words fell, the middle-aged fat man seemed to feel something tapping his shoulder. He turned his head, and a flexible white silk was poking his shoulder.
And poking again.
The third time, it didn’t connect.
His emotions from scolding someone earlier were still at a high point. He had seamlessly listened to the ghost’s song, and then been poked by the white silk. After this triple blow, the middle-aged fat man completely fainted.
Thud!
He fell face-first, his nose bleeding, and even his nasal bone was somewhat fractured.
Blood flowed out from the gap between his face and the ground. Zhou Qi’an zoomed in with his phone’s camera and took a few close-up shots of the middle-aged fat man’s face.
“Done.”
The interests of the artists and the company were closely related. The ones who had disappeared were all newly popular stars who could make money. The middle-aged fat man was not a good person, but it probably had nothing to do with the sale of the Xuan Xuan Mei Ling Pills.
But…
“He specially built a building to block the Sha.”
He probably did a lot of other evil things on a daily basis. The employees of such a boss probably wished they could grind his bones to dust. In the evening, he would show these videos and photos to the artist ghost, move it a little, and then find out the seller of the Mei Ling Pills.
As for the daytime…
Good times, eating, drinking, and having fun!
He picked up the middle-aged fat man’s phone, didn’t find any useful information, and turned to look at the call records.
At noon yesterday, the other party had called the makeup artist. Finding the number from that time, Zhou Qi’an sent a message: Come to my office immediately.
In less than ten minutes, the makeup artist hurried upstairs.
The boss was always inexplicable. Although she didn’t know why he had notified her via text message, the makeup artist was only puzzled for a few seconds.
When she arrived, Zhou Qi’an had just come out of the office.
Behind him, the heavy door was not yet fully closed. The makeup artist vaguely saw the boss sitting in the swivel chair, his back to her, seemingly on the phone.
Zhou Qi’an cleared his throat lightly. “The boss said to have you do the makeup and styling for me and a security guard.”
“A security guard?” The makeup artist’s voice had just risen when, worried about disturbing the boss who was on the phone in the office, she lowered it.
Zhou Qi’an nodded, mentioning his previous janitor identity from yesterday. “The company is preparing to form a ‘Bao’ character boy band.”
“…” You’re being humorous.
“Oh right, he also said to notify the cameraman to follow and shoot, to get a few usable beautiful pictures to hype up the topic with yesterday’s heat.”
After saying the last word, Zhou Qi’an completely closed the office door.
Ignoring some of the absurd content, since the boss was only two or three meters away, the makeup artist didn’t doubt Zhou Qi’an’s words.
If it were fake, the boss would have already flown into a rage.
Things went very smoothly. Besides the makeup artist, no one else suspected Zhou Qi’an’s ‘fake imperial decree’. For one thing, the company had just bought him a hot search this morning, and for another, a normal person wouldn’t think someone would dare to fake the chairman’s orders.
In the morning, while the other players were still considering whether to try and trigger side quests, Zhou Qi’an and Shen Zhiyi were already in the makeup room, waiting to start their styling.
Shen Zhiyi sat in a chair. When he saw the makeup artist getting close to Zhou Qi’an through the makeup mirror, his eyes gradually narrowed.
“Your skin is so good.” The makeup artist had a super-dull sense.
The temperature continued to drop. She just thought the air conditioning was set too low today.
“Is the company going to ship you two as a CP now?”
The moment the words left her mouth, the makeup artist immediately realized she had crossed a line.
Zhou Qi’an said ambiguously, “No need to ship.”
His attention was all on the makeup artist’s hands. He didn’t immediately grasp the meaning of their conversation, which made Shen Zhiyi’s shadow turn as black as ink again.
He didn’t quite understand some internet slang. Shen Zhiyi lowered his head, his hair brushing against his eyebrows. His voice was frighteningly light. “What is shipping a CP?”
Zhou Qi’an yawned. “Probably just pretending to be a couple for marketing purposes.”
Shen Zhiyi’s throat moved. “You want us to announce our relationship in front of the camera?”
Zhou Qi’an thought his comprehension skills could apply for intangible cultural heritage status.
The makeup artist, who was concentrating on her work, heard the last half of the sentence and couldn’t help but be stunned for a moment. Her hand trembled, and she almost knocked over her cosmetics.
Announce their relationship? What, a real couple?!
The makeup artist subconsciously took a few more glances. The more she looked, the more she felt that these two might be in an intimate relationship.
Especially the man who looked like a scholar but had a cold expression. Although he sat very upright, the angle of his swivel chair was slightly off, and he was sitting closer to the other person.
The corner of his long, narrow eyes was also constantly following the other.
The makeup artist suddenly understood the boss’s idea of forming a ‘Bao’ character boy band.
“You two really look good together.”
When she came to her senses, she realized she had said it out loud and quickly coughed to ease the awkwardness.
The room temperature rose a lot.
The makeup artist wondered, was the air conditioning working again?
Resuming her work, she saw that neither of them had refuted her words, and her heart grew excited. A real couple, and they were so good-looking. Just shipping them on the side gave her more motivation for work.
“I’ll give you two a special matching makeup look.” The makeup artist was very enthusiastic. “Do you want an animal theme or the recently popular elf look? I’m also good at high-difficulty creative makeup.”
She pushed over a three-tiered small cart, which was piled with colorful accessories, high-imitation elf ears, animal ears, and even imitation fluffy animal tails.
Shen Zhiyi hid the coldness in his eyes, glanced over, and said, “You are very cultured.”
The makeup artist was confused.
Zhou Qi’an explained, “This is his highest praise for a human.”
“Huh?”
Highest praise, and it even rose to the level of humanity?
The makeup artist was at a loss.
What had she done right?
Her work was the priority. With confusion, the makeup artist continued to seriously do the makeup and styling.
Zhou Qi’an was choosing from the cart. His finger was on a crown. During this time, he glanced to the side and found that Shen Zhiyi’s gaze was fixed on another area.
Seeing this, his slender fingers shifted a few inches, stopping on the animal ears.
Shen Zhiyi’s eyes brightened a little, but only one eye.
Zhou Qi’an smiled faintly, moved again, and stopped on the pointed elf ears.
Both of Shen Zhiyi’s grayish-white eyes lit up.
Zhou Qi’an said lightly, “This one then.”
The makeup artist seemed to like this one the most too. She had already done the cute style yesterday. Her professional instinct was to constantly challenge high difficulty!
When it was Shen Zhiyi’s turn to choose, he subconsciously wanted to choose the same as Zhou Qi’an.
“A necromancer, perhaps,” Zhou Qi’an made the decision for him, turning his head to say, “The cloak has a commemorative meaning, doesn’t it?”
After abandoning the Nightmare’s body and re-entering the game, the first time they had partnered up in an instance, Shen Zhiyi had appeared as Mu Tianbai.
At that time, the other was wearing a hoodie, a mask covering most of his face, which was somewhat similar to a necromancer.
It was indeed very meaningful.
In an instant, Shen Zhiyi looked much brighter.
“You decide.”
I’ll listen to you.
Zhou Qi’an spoke a few words to the makeup artist, then went to the side to drink water. Halfway through, he glanced sideways and almost choked.
“What the…”
The shadow was so white it was almost invisible.
- This Chinese term refers to artificially inflating a video’s view count. It can be done through bots, automated scripts, or “click farms” to create the illusion of popularity. This practice is used to trigger algorithms and attract genuine viewers and media attention. ↩︎
